GIT 311

Histology of upper GIT

Dr. Lutfun Nahar

Contents
Oral cavity Tongue

Esophagus
Stomach

Introduction
Gastrointestinal tract is

a long , hollow tube or tract

Extends from oral cavity

to anus

General structure of GIT

Consists of four layers:
Mucous layer Submucous layer Muscular layer Serous layer

Mucous layer
Mucosa comprises:
Epithelial lining
Lamina propria Consists of loose connective tissue

rich in blood and lymph vessels

Muscularis mucosae Consists of inner circular layer and an

outer longitudinal layer of smooth muscle cells It separates the mucosa from the submucosa
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Function of mucosa
Secretion Absorption

Barrier
Immunologic protection

Submucous layer
Composed of dense irregular connective tissue and contains:
blood and lymph vessels

submucosal or Meissners nerve plexus

glands and lymphoid tissue

Muscular layer
It contains smooth muscle cells that are spirally oriented and divided into two sublayers:
Internal sublayer is circular

External sublayer is longitudinal

Myenteric or Auerbachs nerve plexus lies between

two muscle sublayers

Serous layer
Consists of thin layer of loose connective tissue

Rich in blood and lymph vessels, and adipose tissue

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Oral cavity
Oral cavity is lined with stratified squamous epithelium,

keratinized or nonkeratinized, depending on the region

The keratin layer protects the oral mucosa from damage

during masticatory function

The keratin layer is present in the gingiva and hard palate Nonkeratinized stratified squamous epithelium covers the

soft palate, lips, checks and the floor of the mouth

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Tongue
The tongue is a mass of striated muscle covered by a

mucous membrane
The dorsal surface of tongue is rough due to presence of

papillae
The ventral surface of tongue is smooth The posterior one-third of dorsal surface is separated

from the anterior two-thirds by a V-shaped boundary

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Papillae
Papillae are elevations of epithelium and lamina propria. There are four types of papillae:
Filiform papillae - slender, conical shape, most

numerous, cover the entire dorsal surface

Fungiform papillae - less numerous, have broad round

surface resemble mushrooms

Foliate papillae poorly developed in humans

Circumvallate papillae large circular papillae with

flattened surfaces, distributed in the V region in the posterior portion of the tongue
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Tongue: circumvalate papillae

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Muscles of tongue (Anterior part of tongue)

The tongue consists of criss-crossing bundles of

skeletal muscle
The muscles are longitudinal, transverse or oblique

The connective tissue around the muscle bundle

contain blood vessel

Anterior lingual gland lies in the lower half of the

tongue and opens on the ventral surface of the tongue

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Anterior region of the tongue

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Posterior tongue behind circumvallate papilla

Dorsal surface of posterior region exhibits large mucosal

ridges
Nonkeratinized stratified squamous epithelium covers the

mucosal ridges
Lamina propria of the mucosa is wider but similar to that in the

anterior two-thirds
Lamina propria contains diffuse lymphatic tissue,

accumulation of adipose tissue, nerve fibers and blood vessels

Skeletal muscle lies beneath the lamina propria The posterior lingual gland opens onto the dorsal surface
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Posterior tongue behind circumvallate papillae

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Esophagus
Esophagus is a muscular tube extends from the pharynx to the stomach
Histologically it consists of four layers: mucosa submucosa muscularis externa

adventitia / serosa

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Upper esophagus

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Mucosa
Mucosa consists of three parts:
epithelium
nonkeratinized stratified squamous epithelium

lamina propria

lies below the epithelium, consists of thin layer of fine connective tissue, contains small blood vessels, diffuse lymphatic tissue and a small lymphatic nodule consists of a layer of longitudinal

muscularis mucosae
smooth muscle fibers

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Submucosa
Submucosa:
a wide layer of moderately dense irregular connective

trissue,
Contains adipose tissue, esophageal glands and blood

vessels

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Muscularis externa
Muscularis externa located inferior to the submucosa
Composed of two well-defined muscle layers:

inner circular and outer longitudinal

Muscularis externa in:
Upper third of esophagus consists of skeletal muscles

Middle third consists of both skeletal and smooth muscle

Lower third, only smooth muscle is present
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Adventitia / serosa
Adventitia / Serosa :
In the thoracic cavity, the outer most layer of the

esophagus is called adventitia

In the abdominal cavity, the outer most layer of the

esophagus is called serosa

It consists of connective tissue layer and contains

adipose tissue, blood vessels and nerves

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Esophageal-stomach junction

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Stomach
Stomach is a dilated segment of the digestive tract, that

digest food and secrets hormone There are three histological regions: Cardia Fundus and body Pylorus The fundus and body are identical in microscopic structure The mucosa and submucosa of the undistended stomach lie in longitudinally directed folds known as rugae When the stomach is filled with food, folds flatten out
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Histological structure
Stomach has four histologic layers:
Mucosa Submucosa

Muscularis externa
Serosa

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Stomach mucosa of the fundus and body

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Mucosa
Mucosa consists of:
Surface epithelium simple columnar, that invaginates to various extents into the lamina propria, forming gastric pits

Lamina propria composed of loose connective tissue, contains gastric glands, lymphatic tissue or small lymph nodule Gastric glands contain two distinct cell types acidophilic parietal cells and basophilic chief cells
Muscularis mucosae
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Submucosa
Submucosa lies below the muscularis mucosae It is composed of dense irregular connective tissue It contains small blood vessels, and isolated or clusters of

parasympathetic ganglia of the submucosal (Meissners) nerve plexus

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Muscularis externa
Muscularis externa consists of three layers of smooth

muscle
Inner oblique muscle layer Middle circular muscle layer Outer longitudinal muscle layer Myenteric (Auerbachs) nerve plexus of

parasympathetic ganglia and nerve fibers is located between the circular and longitudinal smooth muscle layers
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Serosa
Serosa consists of thin connective tissue that overlies the muscularis externa

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Fundic mucosa

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Basal region of fundic mucosa

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Mucosa of pyloric region

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Difference between cardia, fundus & body, and pylorus

Cardia Contain cardiac gland Gastric pit less deeper than pyloric gland Fundus & body Contain gastric gland Gastric pit less deeper than pyloric gland Pylorus Contain pyloric gland Gastric pit more deeper than gastric or cardiac gland Parietal cells few

Parietal cells absent or very few

Parietal cells more

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References
Basic Histology Luis Carlos Junqueira, 11th edition diFiores Atlas of Histology 10th edition

Histology A Text and Atlas Michael H. Ross, 4th

edition

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